Gazpacho

One of my favorite summer soups – gazpacho brings back memories of my mother who would make it with all the wonderful vegetables from our garden. Refreshing and healthy; it’s a great first course or light lunch or blended as a smoothie for breakfast.

Gazpacho

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

1 small red onion, minced

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced

1 red pepper, seeded, diced

1 yellow pepper, seeded, diced

3 large ripe tomatoes, seeded, chopped

3 stalks celery, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar

2 Tb. basil, snipped

2 Tb. flat leaf parsley, chopped

4 cups tomato juice or V-8 juice

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 Tb. hot sauce of your liking

Homemade croutons, optional

Procedure

1. Combine the above ingredients except the croutons in a large bowl and season to taste. Chill overnight if possible and serve with a few croutons on top of each bowl.

Croutons

Ingredients

1/2 baguette, day old if possible

3 Tb. olive oil

Salt and pepper

Procedure

1. Heat the oven to 400. Cut the bread into small cubes and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Transfer to a baking sheet and toast about 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.